Hepatitis (plural hepatitides) implies injury to the liver characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from ancient Greek hepar (????) or hepato- (?????-), meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning “inflammation” (c. 1727)[1]. The condition can be self-limiting, healing on its own, or can progress to scarring of the liver. Hepatitis is acute when it lasts less than six months and chronic when it persists longer. A group of viruses known as the hepatitis viruses cause most cases of liver damage worldwide. Hepatitis can also be due to toxins (notably alcohol), other infections or from autoimmune process.
How does hepatitis affect the liver?
The liver breaks down waste products in your blood. When the liver is inflamed, it doesn’t do a good job of getting rid of waste products. One waste product in the blood, called bilirubin (say “billy-roo-bin”), begins to build up in the blood and tissues when the liver isn’t working right. The bilirubin makes the skin of a person with hepatitis turn a yellow-orange color. This is called jaundice (say “john-dis”).
What Are the Signs and Symptoms?
Hepatitis infection causes inflammation of the liver, which means that the liver becomes swollen and damaged and begins losing its ability to function. People with hepatitis often get symptoms similar to those caused by other virus infections, such as weakness, tiredness, and nausea. Because the symptoms of hepatitis are similar to other conditions, it’s easy for a person who has it to confuse it with another illness. In addition, people with hepatitis A may not show any symptoms of the infection, so the infection can go undiagnosed.
What causes it?
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is transmitted from individual to individual through contact with infected bodily fluids, such as blood. Because chronic carriers of HBV are often unaware that they have the virus, they may transmit the disease to others unknowingly. Injecting illegal drugs with contaminated needles or unprotected sexual contact with an infected individual are common ways to become infected. S
Gender
Hepatocellular carcinoma is much more common in males than in females, although much of this is likely due to differences in behaviors affecting the risk factors described below. The fibrolamellar subtype of HCC occurs in about equal numbers in both sexes.
Autoimmune chronic hepatitis accounts for about 20% of all chronic hepatitis cases. Like other autoimmune disorders, this condition develops because a genetically defective immune system attacks the body’s own cells and organs, in this case, the liver, after being triggered by an environmental agent, probably a virus. Suspects include the measles virus, a hepatitis virus, or the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis. It is also possible that a reaction to a drug or other toxin that affects the liver also triggers an autoimmune response in susceptible individuals.
Prevention:
The following hepatitis vaccines are available:
Hepatitis A vaccine is available for people in high-risk groups, like day care and nursing home workers, laboratory workers, and those traveling to parts of the world where hepatitis is common.
What’s the treatment?
The majority of people with hepatitis B don’t need specific treatment other than rest and they eventually make a full recovery.
If the infection lasts more than six months (chronic hepatitis infection), a hospital liver specialist may recommend an antiviral drug treatment called alpha interferon. This treatment aims to reduce the risk of permanent liver damage (cirrhosis) and liver cancer.
Medical Treatment
If you are dehydrated, your doctor may prescribe IV fluid to help you feel better.
If you are experiencing significant nausea and vomiting, you will receive medicines to control these symptoms.
Shirley
Autoimmune hepatitis is a disease in which the system’s exempt structure attacks liver cells. Although the cause for this isn’t completely clear-cut, some diseases, toxins and drugs may spark autoimmune hepatitis in vulnerable folk, particularly women. The disease is normally rather severe and, if not treated, gets worse over moment. Usually, the exempt structure does not respond against the system’s own cells. However, sometimes it erroneously attacks the cells it is supposed to defend. This reaction is called autoimmunity. Autoimmune hepatitis can produce after such viral infections as intense hepatitis A, hepatitis B or measles or after transmission with the Epstein-Barr virus. Some medications wound the liver immediately - overdoses of the popular pain backup acetaminophen, for instance, can induce liver bankruptcy. Other hereditary abnormalities may have autoimmune hepatitis more competitive and harder to handle.
This disease is almost popular in inexperienced girls and women. Autoimmune hepatitis is normally chronic, significance it can live for years, and can head to cirrhosis of the liver and finally liver bankruptcy. The higher blood force drug methyldopa, the anti-inflammatory diclofenac, the antibiotics minocycline and nitrofurantoin, and possibly atorvastatin may spark autoimmune hepatitis in some folk. Autoimmune hepatitis is classified as either type I or II. Type I is the most common form in North America. It occurs at any age and is more common among women than men. Type II autoimmune hepatitis is less common, typically affecting girls ages 2 to 14, although adults can have it too. The chronic inflammation gradually damages the liver cells which results in serious problems. Autoimmune hepatitis is usually not preventable. Awareness of risk factors may allow early detection and treatment.
Signs and symptoms of autoimmune hepatitis can drift from insignificant to serious and may go on abruptly or produce over moment. Symptoms of autoimmune hepatitis scope from balmy to serious. Some people have few, if any, problems in the early stages of the disease, whereas others experience signs and symptoms such as: yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, abnormal blood vessels on the skin, fluid in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting, abdominal discomfort and liver scarring. People in advanced stages of the disease are more likely to have symptoms such as fluid in the abdomen (ascites) or mental confusion. Women may stop having menstrual periods. A routine blood test for liver enzymes can help reveal a pattern typical of hepatitis, but further tests, especially for autoantibodies, are needed to diagnose autoimmune hepatitis.
Blood tests too assist distinguish autoimmune hepatitis from viral hepatitis or a metabolic disease. Treatment works better when autoimmune hepatitis is diagnosed early. With appropriate handling, autoimmune hepatitis can normally be controlled. The primary treatment is medicine to suppress an overactive immune system. Both types of autoimmune hepatitis are treated with daily doses of a corticosteroid called prednisone. A liver transplant may be an option when autoimmune hepatitis doesn’t respond to drug treatments or in cases of advanced liver disease. Another medicine, azathioprine is also used to treat autoimmune hepatitis. Most people will need to take prednisone, with or without azathioprine, for years. Some people take it for life. Corticosteroids may slow down the disease, but everyone is different. In about one out of every three people, treatment can eventually be stopped. Like prednisone, azathioprine suppresses the immune system, but in a different way.
Allen
Hepatitis C generally refers to infection of the liver. The disease has an incubation stage of up to six months, and patients often have no clear symptoms over this period of time. In some cases the symptoms of hepatitis C occur after a few months from the moment of infection, while in other cases the symptoms of hepatitis C occur after more than a year, when the disease becomes chronic.
Due to the unspecific character of most symptoms produced by hepatitis C, the process of establishing the accurate diagnosis is very complicated and time consuming for doctors. It is virtually impossible for doctors to diagnose hepatitis C relying solely on patients’ reports of symptoms and clinical examinations. In order to reveal conclusive evidence of HCV (hepatitis C virus) infection, doctors need to perform a series of laboratory tests. Careful blood analyses are considered to be the most reliable method of tracing clear signs of hepatitis C in patients with suspected hepatitis. Liver biopsy is another useful medical procedure that can indicate the presence of infection with HCV and that can also provide doctors with additional information regarding the progression of the disease.
In early stages of infection with HCV, most persons experience no symptoms at all. Other persons may experience very diffuse, hardly perceivable generalized symptoms such as fatigue and nausea. At first, the symptoms produced by hepatitis C are generally mild and resemble those produced by cold or flu: muscular weakness and tenderness; joint stiffness and pain; loss of appetite. Mild or moderate fever can also occur in patients with hepatitis C in the early phases of the disease. A more relevant symptom consists in recurrent pain and pronounced discomfort in the liver area, often suggesting infection and inflammation of the organ.
In the later stages of infection with HCV, the symptoms produced by the disease gradually increase in intensity and duration, pointing to potential complications. In advanced phases of hepatitis C, the most common symptoms are: yellowish appearance of the skin and mucosal membranes (mouth and nasal mucosal lining), yellowish appearance of the eyes (often indicating the development of jaundice or icterus), light-colored feces and dark-colored urine. Patients diagnosed with complicated forms of hepatitis C can suffer from enlargement and inflammation of the liver and spleen, severe weight loss, severe body weakness, nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting. Patients with complicated hepatitis C often develop intolerance to alcoholic beverages. Pronounced intolerance to alcohol as well as to fatty food products can be an indicator of cirrhosis (liver cancer).
If you want to find out more resources about hepatitis c symptoms or even about hepatitis c transmission you should visit this website http://www.hepatitis-guide.com
Gertrude
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. It is common worldwide. Many illnesses and conditions can cause inflammation of the liver, for example, drugs, alcohol, chemicals, and autoimmune diseases. The most common etiology of acute hepatitis is viral infection. In North America, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C are the commonest causes of viral hepatitis. Viral hepatitis occurs less commonly with infections such as Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, herpes simplex and Coxsackie virus. There are several hepatitis viruses; they have been named types A, B, C, D, E, F (not confirmed), and G. Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). Hepatitis A can affect anyone. In the United States, hepatitis A can occur in situations ranging from isolated
Minnie
I have a neighbor who is infected with hepatitis B is very eager to work abroad. But she is doubtful that she might fail on the medical because of this virus. Though, she is very healhty and she got the virus since birth. So, what do you think?
Marion
I found out from a new friend that I have that she has hepatitis. What is this from? How do you get it, and is it spreadable?
Johnny
In order to prevent hepatitis A, it pays to observe cleanliness. Don’t just eat in any place nor buy food from street vendors. Cook food properly and wash your hands after going to the bathroom and before eating.
Have your water supply checked to make sure that it is not contaminated. If it is, boil it for a few minutes to eliminate whatever disease-causing microorganisms are present. Avoid sharing food and drinks with someone else and avoid intimate contact with someone you don’t know very well.
If you already had hepatitis A, there’s no need to worry. You’re immune to the disease and won’t be re-infected. But if you have yet to experience the disease, take note of the above measures.
Increased standards of personal hygiene have lowered the incidence of hepatitis A in many industrialized countries. But personal cleanliness alone is not the answer.
That’s because you can also acquire hepatitis A if you travel to places where sanitation is poor or questionable. The risk, therefore, is great for non-immune travelers who go to areas where hepatitis A is prevalent.
“Even in highly-developed, low hepatitis A virus (HAV) endemicity populations who have all the advantages of good public health systems, high risk groups continue to exist. Those working in ‘closed’ environments, including prisons and institutions for the mentally and physically handicapped, health and child care personnel and the armed forces all require protection from HAV - as do the families and close contacts of those already infected,” researchers said.
The problem was solved in the 1940s when researchers found that passive immunization or injecting gamma globulin into non-immune subjects protected them from HAV. Gamma globulin is a disease-fighting substance taken from the blood of patients who have developed natural immunity to hepatitis A. Once injected, it offers immediate protection to the patient and may make the infection less troublesome in those who have been exposed to the virus.
“I’m often asked by someone who has been exposed to hepatitis A whether they need a protective ’shot.’ If the contact has been really close (like living in the same household, or working together at adjacent desks), I recommend gamma globulin by injection as soon as possible. This enhances immunity temporarily and may either prevent the infection or render it less severe,” according to Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld of the New York Hospital Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center in “The Best Treatment.”
The protection offered by gamma globulin, however, is only temporary. It lasts for a few weeks to two months, making it a less than an ideal preventive measure against hepatitis A. For those who travel frequently to high HAV endemicity areas, additional shots are required which can hurt both your arm and your wallet.
“The short-term nature of the protection offered by (gamma globulin) has led to serious compliance problems, particularly among non-immune travelers and long-term visitors to higher HAV endemicity areas, Many require repeated injections,” researchers revealed.
A breakthrough in hepatitis A research occurred when two strains of HAV were made into inactivated vaccines. These two vaccines have since been routinely used for the long-term prevention of hepatitis A.
“The Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccines for hepatitis A. These vaccines - Havrix and Vaqta - contain inactivated forms of hepatitis A virus and are safe for children older than 2 years as well as for most adults, including those with compromised immune systems. It takes four weeks for the vaccine to take effect, and you’ll need to get a booster shot in six to 12 months. The vaccine causes only minor side effects, although allergic reactions can occur,” said the Mayo Clinic.
To strengthen your body, take Immunitril – your first line of defense in maintaining a healthy immune system. For details, visit http://www.bodestore.com/immunitril.html.
My girlfriend is a dental assistant and was transferring tools that were used to clean the mouth of a patient that previously had hepatitis. One tool poked her finger thru the bag and she squeezed it until it bled. She doesn’t believe there was blood on the tool and she had her Hep vaccinations last year. There’s probably very little or no chance she could contract Hepatitis thru it, but how long after the incident should she wait to get a blood test to confirm it?
Thelma
Football legend Diego Maradona was diagnosed with acute alcoholic hepatitis recently, and nearly all reports also mentioned he’d also contracted hepatitis b back in 1991 while at Barcelona. Does anyone have more info on how he got hep B in 1991? Not looking for general hep b info, but rather specifics about how Maradona got it.
Thanks!
Melissa
How probable is Hepatitis B carrier getting liver cancer later in his/her life? And is there any way to prevent this?
Here’s the blood test results:
Hepatitis B Surface Antigen: Positive
Hepatitis B Surface Antibody: Negative
Hepatitis B e-antigen: Negative
Hepatitis B Core IGM Antibody: Negative
Hepatitis B e-antibody: Postive
All the Hepatic Function Panel test results (including AST, ALT, and AFP) are normal.
Thanks.
Mike
